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Why I Came Home Early
Continue ReadingAssume you are a middle-aged man born and raised in North America. You are journeying alone through the Middle East, and for two years solid you have no significant contact with a woman, or any group of women. By that I mean: no smiles and no exchange of words; no eye contact; and no matter […]
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This Might Become a Collector’s Item
Continue ReadingA Catastrophic Fall from Power Near the bottom of our faded billboard, Arabic letters spell out (right-to-left): Mohamed Hosni Mubarak. The flattering illustration depicts a heroic man in the prime of life and solidly in control — the undisputed modern Egyptian Pharaoh who had ruled his kingdom twenty-eight years. Two years after I made […]
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Intersecting World History
Continue ReadingTo those who would bear the hopes and future of the people, let the voice of their guns express the words of freedom. Death to the Fascist Insect that preys upon the life of the people. (Rallying Cry of the Symbionese Liberation Army) “Greetings, my comrade sisters and brothers, all love, power and freedom […]
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Uncommon Imagery in a Turkish Storefront
Continue ReadingI explored every street in downtown Selçuk, Turkey. I also sampled outlying neighborhoods. This wedding photographer’s window-display represents the only public imagery bordering on the erotic I saw in that town; in fact, I saw nothing so blatant during the rest of my trip through the conservative country of Turkey, which included a week’s stay […]
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Concerning My Belated Visit to the Hermitage
Continue ReadingWhile serving at a remote Air Force station in Alaska, I discovered Art History. We lived in dense forest inhabited by wolves among other wild beasts. Our base was in effect an isolated town with three paved streets. One two-story dormitory sat in the middle of everything, housing one hundred-fifty enlisted men; a day […]
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Homage to Edward Hopper
Continue ReadingI had driven a thousand miles west stopping just once to sleep. On the high plains of Kansas I ran into sleet and bitter winds. For reasons unknown, I am without luck in these situations; again and again forced into remote towns under heavy weather, where travelers confront poor choices among accommodations. That night — […]
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Encountering Complex Symbolism
Continue ReadingDiscovering an exciting new English phrase in the wild. An advertising professional produced this wordplay: IN BRUNCH WE TRUST I found this intransitive declaration on placards appearing on every residential floor of a Las Vegas hotel, opposite elevator doors. Each of seven landings had an urban backdrop showing through floor-to-ceiling picture windows: views of rooftops, […]
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Seen On The Streets of Cairo (1)
Continue ReadingIn Middle-Eastern nations heterosexual men are free to touch others of the same sex on the street within traditional guidelines, as we see in this affectionate gesture recorded near downtown Cairo, Egypt. This might be father and son, or two brothers waiting together for traffic to clear. The visitor to this part of the world […]
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A Most Challenging LookIn Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Portraiture, Street PhotographyIn their frankness her eyes disconcert me. She […]
Why I Came Home EarlyIn Autobiographical, Cultural Anthropology, Egypt, Middle EastAssume you are a middle-aged man born and raised in […]
A Scene From YesteryearIn Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Street PhotographyIn this slice of American history, relaxation — […]
On Visiting A Bonfire-SiteIn Art Historical, Cultural Anthropology, Pilgrimages, ReportageA Ruined Chapel in the California Desert […]
Another Anomalous VisionIn Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Inexplicables, Street Photography“If an extraterrestrial came to earth and […]