Welcome to my Blog!
I hope to share here my irrepressible thoughts on news, music, books, arts, history, cultural events and such like.
In general these will be items, events and issues which I feel have no place on my website (which focusses on aviation history and my travel photography).

The item immediately below this would be the latest posting.

Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to talk about himself. - Charles Baudelaire
Esse est percipi (To be is to be perceived) ¬Bishop George Berkeley

Not even I understand everything I am ¬Aurelius Augustinus of Hippo

In 2013 I started a series of photo albums on Blurb.com, named '36Exp' (a subject adressed in 36 exposures, a reference to the exposures on most common rolls of 35 mm film: 12, 24 & 36.) back in the day.
The books can be ordered directly from the Blurb.com or Amazon.
www.blurb.com/user/ruudleeuw

CURRENT BLOG

'Dictator' is a historical novel by British author Robert Harris, published in 2015, which concludes his trilogy about the life of the Roman lawyer, politician and orator, Cicero (106–43 BC).
Dictator follows the first novel 'Imperium' (2006) and the 2nd novel 'Lustrum' (2009).
It is both a biography of Cicero and a tapestry of Rome in the time of Pompey, Crassus, Cato, Caesar, Clodius and ultimately Octavian.

This is the 1st book by Robert Harris I've read and certainly won't be my last! I don't think the order in which these books, as above mentioned, is read matters much and I will be on the look out for 'Imperium' and 'Lustrum'.

I read this book during my recent holidays in Italy and the atmosphere permeated and saturated my soul travelling through this fascinating, not always beautiful nor kind, country.

The story is told through Tiro, secretary of Cicero, detailing Cicero's last 15 years. Tiro's books disappeared, probably destroyed, and this book -reserached to the finest detail- is written as Tiro could have written it.
It begins with Cicero fleeing Publius Clodius Pulcher and his mob in Rome and going into exile in Thessalonica. He is able to return to Rome after more than a year under the promise to support Julius Caesar.
Back in Rome, he attempts to revive the Roman Republic, but the forces against this are too strong. Rule by a triumvirate—Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus—eventually becomes rule by one man when Caesar takes control through civil war.
Caesar becomes too powerful and is murdered by a group led by Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus and Marcus Junius Brutus.
The Senate fails to take control and Mark Antony rises. Cicero sets his hopes on the young Octavian, but when Octavian strikes a deal with Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, Cicero is doomed and the days of the Republic are over...
Tiro also relates family and personal matters during Cicero's final years.

This 3rd part of Harris’s Cicero trilogy is a fine portrait of the great Roman’s last years.
Indeed a fascinating read!

en.wikipedia.org:_Dictator_(Robert Harris_novel)
www.theguardian.com/books/2015/ - /dictator-robert-harris-review

'The lion, the city, the water'

For 50+ years, celebrated author Cees Nooteboom has been captivated by the city of Venice, that "absurd combination of power, money, genius and great art".
Beginning with his first visit in 1964, Nooteboom integrates his many travels to La Serenissima, bringing to life the alleys, locked gates, and countless canals.
Surrounded by the dead, he pays homage to the painters and writers who lived and worked there, to the palaces, bridges, painting, and sculpture that give the city a kind of immortality.

I've tried to read Nooteboom before, but abandoned that early attempt for his elevated and flowery prose, but in preperation of a repeat visit to Venice I could pick out what I found enjoyable and useful here, and I might even attempt a reread for I found it quite useful and readable.

You only really get to know a city when you get lost in its streets and alleys. Venice, with all its hidden corners and closed gates, surrounded by the countless lagoons, is made to get lost in. But, as the real traveler knows: getting lost means finding the most beautiful thing a place has to offer. Cees Nooteboom is such a real traveler. He finds his way past carved arches and bobbing gondolas and takes the reader behind the tourist mask of the city of water.

From the forecourt of a vaporetto, Nooteboom lets life and art pass him by.
He watches support poles being "extracted like rotten teeth" from "mud the color of death".
From his memories and observations, it’s clear that one hundred years after James, Venice remains a place of contradiction, both morbid and full of life.
Tourism has done more to harm the city, more than its sinking ever could, but he does little investigation. Instead, he prowls the streets, conjuring up emblems of the past in statues, paintings, and gardens.
Which is a useful addition to my own memories and history reading, adds a dimension to future visits to Venice, Italy!

www.worldliteraturetoday.org/ - /venice-lion-city-and-water-cees-nooteboom
yalebooks.yale.edu/book/ - /venice/
www.goodreads.com/ (NL)

Photographs of scenes in Hungary, Paris, and New York are accompanied by Kertesz's comments on his career as a photographer.

André Kertész (b.02Jul1894 – d.28Sep1985), born Kertész Andor, was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition and the photo essay.
In the early years of his career, his then-unorthodox camera angles and style ('distorted nudes') prevented his work from gaining wider recognition.

"We all owe something to Kertész" is a well-known expression by Henri Cartier-Bresson.
While Kertész had his first exhibition in Paris in 1927, he never felt that he had gained the worldwide recognition he deserved. Today he is considered one of the seminal figures of photojournalism.

In 1936, Erney Prince, director of Keystone (an American photographis agency) invited Kertesz to New York for a one-year period. It was the beginning of many years of unhappiness..
The war prevented him and his wife of returning to France. His photography was either 'too human' or porn (K.'s experiments with distorted nudes) in the eyes of American editors or curators. It made Kertesz bitter.
This book is based on a conversation with the photographer in New Yorkin the autumn of 1981 during the making of the documentary film series 'Great Master Photographers' for BBC Television. It took place in the apartment Kertész had lived in for 33 years.
The death of his wife Elizabeth left him heart broken.

www.goodreads.com/- - Kertesz_on_Kertesz
en.wikipedia.org:_André_Kertész

The 32nd installment (and counting..) of Donna Leon’s bestselling series, featuring police inspector Guido Brunetti.
On a cold November evening, when a call from his colleague Ispettore Vianello arrives, alerting the Commissario that a hand has been seen in one of Venice’s canals...
The body is soon found, and Brunetti is assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant. Identification and a search into his past remains a mystery for a long time.
Because no official record of the man’s presence in Venice exists, Brunetti is forced to use the city’s far richer sources of information: gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim.
Curiously, he had been living in a small house on the grounds of a palazzo owned by a university professor, in which Brunetti discovers books revealing the victim’s interest in Buddhism, the revolutionary Tamil Tigers, and the last crop of Italian political terrorists, active in the 1980s.

As the investigation expands, Brunetti, Vianello, Commissario Griffoni, and Signora Elettra each assemble pieces of a puzzle—random information about real estate and land use, books, university friendships—that appear to have little in common, until Brunetti stumbles over something that transports him back to his own student days, causing him to reflect on lost ideals and the errors of youth, on Italian politics and history, and on the accidents that sometimes lead to revelation.

Growing a little tired of expanded episodes of Brunetti's domestic scene ('what's for lunch/dinner)', I also noted the lack of (criticism on Italian) politics in 'So Shall You Reap', unless one counts the history on extremism among Italian students and at universities decades ago.
All in all an entertaining edition of Donna Leon's writing.

www.goodreads.com/book/- so-shall-you-reap
en.wikipedia.org:_Donna_Leon

Arnold Abner Newman (b.03Mar1918 – 06Jun2006) was an American photographer, noted for his 'environmental portraits' of artists and politicians. He was also known for his carefully composed abstract still life images.

'Arnold Newman in Florida' contains selected portraits and abstract photographs curated by Bruce Weber (including a period 1940-47) taken in the Palm Beach area and the book contains an extensive interview by Bruce Weber with the photographer concerning his career.
At the time of publication (1986) it was accompanied by an exhibition in the Norton Gallery of Art (1451 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach) on the occasion of Newman's 70th birthday. Forword by Richard A. Madigan.

Born in Manhattan to a Jewish family, Newman grew up in Atlantic City, New Jersey and later moved to Miami Beach, Florida.[1] In 1936, he studied painting and drawing at the University of Miami. Unable to afford to continue after two years, he moved to Philadelphia to work for a studio, making 49-cent portraits in 1938.
Newman returned to Florida in 1942 to manage a portrait studio in West Palm Beach. Three years later, he opened his own business in Miami Beach.
In 1946, Newman relocated to New York, opened Arnold Newman Studios and worked as a freelance photographer for Fortune, Life, and Newsweek.

New man did not think every 'star' worthy of a portrait by his hand, he did not photograph 'lightweight celebrities' as they were not of any interest and "only famous for being famous".
He died of a heart attack in New York City in June 2006, aged 88.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Newman

On 20Aug2023 the annual Fotografica open air market ('trade fair') returned to Doesdurg after 3 years of absence: 2 years by Corona pandemic restrictions and 1 year (2022) by major street renovations here in Doesburg.

Some 125 market stalls lined the streets, I noticed many seller were from Germany, one at least from France and/or Belgium and heard various languages from buyers and visitors.
I'd never before visited such a specialized curiosa market and was astounded by the amount of money changing hands!

Next time I may buy something!

www.fotograficadoesburg.nl

'Fabulous Monsters' at Museum MORE (Kasteel Ruurlo & 'Dat Bolwerck' @Zutphen)) present work by photographer Viviane Sassen in a double exhibition. 'Fabulous Monsters' covers the two disciplines that characterize her work: fashion photography and free photographic work.

The exhibition in Ruurlo Castle focuses more on the conscious, the light and the eroticism of the psyche. For this double exhibition, the two cultural institutions in Ruurlo were able to draw richly on the special and varied oeuvre that Sassen has built up over the years.

As a photographer, she gained great fame with campaigns for international fashion brands and her work is exhibited all over the world.
The nearly 60 photographs in the two exhibitions come from the photo series Venus & Mercury (2020), Cadavre Exquis (2020), Lexicon (2014), Roxane II (2017) and Of Mud and Lotus (2017).

Not really quite my cup of tea, we did have a lovely lunch here.

en.wikipedia.org:_Viviane_Sassen

William Klein (b.19Apr1926 – d.10Sep2022) was an American-born French photographer and filmmaker noted for his ironic approach to both media and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography.
He was a painter, photographer, film-maker and a graphic artist and is often cited as a tour de force of street photography; however, his influence is far more extensive than that.

His book Life is Good and Good For You in New York: Trance – Witness - Revels, created in just three months and published in Paris in 1956, was one of the publishing sensations of the decade. Ground-breaking in its use of movement blur, high contrast printing, ultra-rapid film, wide angle lenses, cropping and page design, it was followed by photo-essays on Tokyo, Moscow and Paris.
In addition, Klein gained widespread fame for his work as a fashion photographer for Vogue, despite the fact that he had no particular interest in fashion, and for his bitingly satirical films, including Who are you, Polly Magoo, Mr Freedom and Le Couple Temoin.
Tokyo, Moscow, Paris, Vogue and films are depicted here in ABC. Essay by David Campany.

This astonishing book, designed and selected by Klein himself, is a visual history of his long and varied career. Including iconic images, painted contact sheets, magazine covers.
The book is arranged chronologically from the 1950s through to the present.
The journey through Klein’s work concludes with a selection of his recent, colour photographs, including the extraordinary scenes he found when shooting in London in 2011 among the crowds during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

www.goodreads.com/book/- -abc
en.wikipedia.org:_William_Klein_(photographer)

Last friday paid a first visit to this yearly two day event, 11th edition I believe, at Grave (across the
Maas / Meuse) in North-Brabant.
The attraction for me was mainly a 'Photo Op', but I may consider a ride in one of those next year!

See also my links to
Streetphotography B&W
Streetphotography Colour
Flickr.com (60 pix)

'The Truth Takes No Prisoners'

And John Rebus returns yet again... Suffering from COPD he apparently is on his last legs but not yet on his last breath!
The book opens with a cliffhanger: Rebus stands in the dock, charged with something but crucially the reader does not yet know what.
"A Heart Full of Headstones" loops back to a completely different set of investigations (hence the title).
Earlier The Scotsman reported at the beginning of this year that Rankin had signed a two book deal for Rebus works. This is the first, and it seems to have been written with the second in mind.
So he will return but in what condition and in what role?

In terms of the narrative, Big Ger Cafferty, now in a wheelchair, summons Rebus ('Strawman', Cafferty's nickname for Rebus), asking him to look for a man back in town whom he is widely rumoured to have had murdered. Why Rebus takes this commission is slightly opaque, and Cafferty’s reason – that he wishes to make amends – is obviously a dubious proposition.
Also, a former policeman named Haggard, is due to stand trial for enthusiastic wife-beating. Looks bad on the police force. Allegedly, he suffers from PTSD brought on by the job, particular due to his time in the 'culture' of Tynecastle Station.
Beans are threatened to be spilled, which might implicate also John Rebus who had ties with Tynecastle.

Both Siobhan Clarke and Malcolm Fox (to whom I have an increasing dislike) are back. Siobhan gets involved in the murder inquiry of Haggard, who may have been silenced.

Fox is out to nail Alex Fleck, a cardealer with continued ties to his former coleagues at Tynecastle Station. But if Fox can bring Rebus down in the process he won't hesitate: "while being a great detective, he was a lousy policeman". And Fox snuggles up to his superior at Gartcosh ('the Big House'), ambitious for a promotion.
Siobhan seems to carry on, cautiously, except for her friendship with an online journalist, of the Courant, who seems to have the scoop on all the possible corruption and yobbishness in Tynecastle.
Murder, corruption, scheming to replace Cafferty in the drugs dealing circuit, adultery, old scores... Everyone is either second-guessing someone or being economical with the truth. And there may be a career change in the offing for Siobhan..
Can't wait for the 2024 John Rebus thriller to become available!

www.scotsman.com/- - -/book-review-a-heart-full-of-headstones
en.wikipedia.org:_Ian_Rankin

Thomas Cromwell wielded enormous power while he retained the king's favor, but the failure of Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves, which Cromwell had arranged, led to his swift downfall and execution.
We get a good look into the characters of King Henry VIII's wives, Cromwell kept his distance and respectful.
Many other 'players' at court get mentioned in some detail, such as Cardinal Wolsey, Cardinal Thomas Cranmere, Thomas More, foreign diplomats such as Eustace Chapuys whose correspondence is much used by
the author.

This biography reveals that the popular image of him as a blood-stained henchman is largely fictional.
Indeed, many people (women from all ranks of society) wrote to Cromwell for influence or advise and were helped by this administrator.
Detailed research into contemporary sources illuminates his brilliant mind and his love for and patronage of the arts and humanities, while short case studies shed new light on his relations with, and his reputation among, Henry VIII's subjects.

When King Henry VIII was looking towards a way out of his marriage with Catharine of Aragon of Catholic religion (thus a divorce seemed 'impossible' and sleeping with Anne Boleyn the same), Cromwell was drawn in the vortex of religious considerations and became affected by the preachings of Martin Luther: a more orthodox Christian religion than what Cahtolic religion had become.
While Henry agreed with some of the possibilities Lutheranism had to offer for his predicament with divorcing his Catholic wives, he was much less influenced than Thomas Cromwell.
Under Cromwell the (Protestant) Reformation (a.k.a. the Protestant Revolution, and the European Reformation) made its inroads in British religion, under considerable opposition of course which led to undoubtedly to much 'fake news' about Cromwell.

This Reformation was a major movement from Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in part to papal authority. The Reformation was the start of Protestantism and the Western Church, the Latin Church, remained the Catholic Church.
Cromwell subsequently charted an evangelical and reformist course for the Church of England from the unique posts of Vicegerent in Spirituals.
He ordered 5.000 rewritten bibles printed in France (because of superior printing in France), but this process was blocked when France and Britain fell out (again); subsequently Cromwell managed after a considerable time to import the printer plus a large amount of bibles, and ordered this new look upon Christianity to be preached throughout the land.
Henry never took to Lutheranism as much as Cromwell.

While Thomas Cromwell, vicar-general and vicegerent of England, is often considered the leader of the dissolutions, he merely oversaw the project, one he had hoped to use for reform of monasteries, not closure or seizure. The dissolution project was created by England's Lord Chancellor, Thomas Audley, and Court of Augmentations head, Richard Rich.
The dissolution of the monasteries, occasionally referred to as the suppression of the monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541, by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents, and friaries in England, Wales, and Ireland; expropriated their income; disposed of their assets; and provided for their former personnel and functions.
The opposition by orthodox religious leaders was not the only lead-in to the Dissolutions, it was also whipered to Henry by land-grabbing nobility (such as Duke of Norfolk) and of course income for Henry VIII himself.

Cromwell had advocated Henry VIII's marriage to Anne of Cleves for a strategic alliance with Germany plus ties with Lutheranism. But Henry was quite disgusted with his new wife when he met her..
The final part narrates the drama of his downfall, and the king's posthumous exoneration of the "most faithful servant he ever had."

A well researched document (including an excellent index) about Thomas Cromwell, his influence and efforts, the international strategies and the court of King Henry VIII (if only he had been more promiscuous and slept with the young women without the need to divorce his wives first!).

en.wikipedia.org:_Thomas_Cromwell
en.wikipedia.org:_Reformation
en.wikipedia.org:_Dissolution_of_the_monasteries
en.wikipedia.org:_Martin_Luther

Yesterday the largest book market in Europe was back in Deventer, thousands of visitors attended Europe's largest book market (33rd edition) on Sunday for the first time in the form in which it was held before the coronavirus pandemic.
Hundreds of stalls and booths were to be found again throughout the city center of Deventer and along the IJsselkade.
Last year there was also a book market, but it was much smaller than usual because many traders had not registered in the aftermath of the coronavirus measures.

I've seen it more busy with stalls years ago but probably the forecasted dismal weather had something to do with that. It was fun, we kept it reasonably dry for many hours and as always came away with an excellent score!

nltimes.nl/2023/08/06/largest-book-market-europe-
www.deventerboekenmarkt.nl/boekenmarkt-2023

Combined driving (also known as horse driving trials) is an equestrian sport involving carriage driving. In this discipline, the driver sits on a vehicle drawn by a single horse, a pair or a team of four.
The sport has three phases: dressage, cross-country marathon and obstacle cone driving — patterned after the mounted equestrian sport of eventing.
It is one of the 10 international equestrian sport horse disciplines recognized by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
Combined driving became an FEI discipline in 1970 when Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the then-president of FEI, produced the first rule book.

I know nothing of this sport, but it was fun to take my camera to this yearly 'Paardenspektakel', indeed a veritable horses spectacle!
My Canon 24-105/L wasn't ideal, I could have used a 70-200 lens but I don't have one (yet)..

During 4 days one can enjoy the driving skills here of two- and four-in-hands from all over the world at this free event. There's a fee to park the car and be transported to the event.
Many countries are represented in the international competitions: a field of absolute world class. (Australia, South Africa, Finland, England, France, Switzerland, et cetera)
The horse event is enriched with the fun of a modest country fair, kids fun, shows and demonstrations.

We only watched the teams with 2 horses, since it had started to rain and I soon tired of shooting my pics from under an umbrella. We were not aware of the time schedule and only learned that the teams with 4 horses were soon to start (14:30?) while we were under way to the carpark, on our way to another appointment.
Of course it stopped raining when we arrived at the carpark...
I'll to better next time, next year perhaps..?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combined_driving
More images on Flickr.com and my Streetphotography (B&W + Colour)

The 8th edition of an annual publication covering the latest, in 2019, photographers emerging from the Netherlands.
Colourful, confronting and sublime, work by no less than 100 young talents is highlighted in all its strange, exuberant and wonderful diversity.
With a foreword by Jan Dirk van der Burg.

The selection of photos I found hard to do, so much talent and fine photography, even while staying close to my personal taste and appreciation I had to make tough choices.
Splendid book to browse for inspiration and follow some on the Socials.

A few years ago I read in a rather randomly compiled book containing travel reports in Britain, about Skoholm and Skokholm. In particular about the Puffins. This connected with a boattrip we had done at the Farne Islands and thus planned to visit the Puffins at Skoholm too.
This was delayed and postponed a few times by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions, but last month we made it come true!

Skomer is a National Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a world-renowned bird paradise.
This sweet and 'petite' natural history book by Skomer resident Jane Matthews illustrates the landscape, seasons, flora, and fauna in over 150 photographs.

Skomer Island lies less than a mile off shore from the Marloes Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, yet it is this short span of water that sets the island a world apart from its neighbors. Free from all land-based predators (rats, mice, mink & stoat) Skomer has evolved as its own bustling ecosystem in a unique and spectacular landscape.
The island and its flora and fauna is closely monitored by specialists and volunteers.

Next time I am in the area I will book a trip ashore and take my chances on the weather. This time I was lucky and why wouldn't I be the next time!

During the trip to the south of England, I made it a point to visit the Martin Parr Foundation (MPF) gallery in Bristol. As we would continue into Wales I selected this book 'Wales' (signed) among the fine selection for sale there.
One of the locations depicted was Tenby (see also the cover photo), which we therefor also visited on a 'spare morning', but I will feature that visit on my website.

The book is not meant as 'characteristically Wales', but it does have the Martin Parr signature: all and sundry that caught Parr's eye (in this case in Wales) and thrown on the canvas.
There is no particular subject, but ranges from people at events and the beach, he depicts baked beans, just-out-of-date Jammy Dodgers with a flavour of humour to it.

The National Museum Wales held an exhibition (2019) of a selection of images made in Wales over some four and a half decades by Martin Parr.
The photographer was drawn to the country in part by his ongoing fascination with documenting the people of the British Isles at leisure, but also covered Wales’ working men’s clubs, agricultural and mining industries, and of course it’s food.

The book, Martin Parr in Wales, is published by National Museum Wales.

Martin Parr CBE (b. 23May1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector.
He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world.
Since 1994, Parr has been a member of Magnum Photos.
He has had around 40 solo photobooks published, and has featured in around 80 exhibitions worldwide.
The Martin Parr Foundation, founded in 2014 (a charity since 2015), opened premises in his hometown of Bristol in 2017. It houses his own archive, his collection of British and Irish photography by other photographers, and a gallery.

www.magnumphotos.com/- - -/martin-parr-wales-book
www.martinparrfoundation.org
en.wikipedia.org:_Martin_Parr

Bought this charming little book on a recent visit to FARLEYS HOUSE & GALLERY (tucked away in the Sussex countryside), a visit which had be on my list for some time!

A selection of her photographs exploring the role of women in the lead-up to, during and after World War II can be found on MyBlog-202Q3, discussing a book containing far more of her work 'LEE MILLER: A WOMAN'S WAR'.
Lee Miller was quite the character and led an eventful life.

Glad I finally found the opportunity to visit Farleys House near Chiddingly, East Sussex; it has been converted into a museum and archive featuring the lives and work of its former residents, the photographer Lee Miller and the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose.
The gallery exhibited work by Annabel Moeller.

en.wikipedia.org:_Lee_Miller
www.leemiller.co.uk
www.britannica.com/biography/Lee-Miller
en.wikipedia.org:_Roland_Penrose
en.wikipedia.org:_Condé_Nast
www.farleyshouseandgallery.co.uk
farleyshouse.com