Ice World Lübeck

Ice World Lübeck
Originally uploaded by Altweibersommer.

I've been exploring flickr.com. It isn't difficult to find some really marvelous pictures. 'Altweibersommer' has been posting a series of photos which she calls "Ice World Lübeck". They are lovely meditations of ice sculptures, frozen light, seasonal and lively.

Cool.

Currently Reading

This is a novel of World War II. It's a spy novel but not in the tradition of, say, James Bond. Instead, it tells the story of Khristo Stoianev who, in 1934, witnesses his brother being kicked to death by the local fascists in his home town of Vidin, Bulgaria. With the help of a friendly recruiter he makes his way out of Vidin and into the embrace of the NKVD, the Russian intelligence service. He is trained in Moscow and proves to be a natural at espionage. He becomes a Russian spy.

Furst commands a wealth of detail about Europe during the 1930's and early 1940's. His book immerses you in the social milieus he depicts, down to the fine-grained class distinctions, cultural temperaments, and ethnic tensions of these worlds...and the bitterness, cynicism and humor to which they give rise.

Lots and Lots of Pictures

I've loaded close to a 1000 photos to flickr.com. It is the best online service I've found for sharing photos. Many of the pictures will be completely uninteresting to anyone not a member of my family but here and there you will find pictures somewhat more interesting than that.

Baslow's Photos at flickr.com

A Hand

fli0007
Originally uploaded by Kh`o.

This picture of a hand, which I found on flickr.com, seems to me to speak volumes...

Joel, as Hamlet, looks at Yorick's skull

Joel, as Hamlet, looks at Yorick's skull
Originally uploaded by baslow.

Joel gave his last performance as Hamlet yesterday, December 19, 2004. The house was packed; word had spread that he was doing a remarkable job in the role. We were especially glad that several of his friends from school made the long train ride up to our neighborhood to see him perform. The audience was very enthusiastic. It was a most satisfying conclusion to his run.

After the show, twenty-one members of the two casts gathered in our apartment to party. The energy level was sky-high.