Perhaps my fun with the subject of the lost Hobo was not in the best of taste. It had the air about it of talk about others behind their backs. But I had no other suitable venue. Certainly I could not post those remarks on The Civil List. I would have been hunted down like a dog in the street--no pun intended.
It is just that the continuing exchanges between expatriates [I misspelled that word in a very unfortunate manner recently] in The Civil List about the best choice of dog food in México, dangerous dog food México, the best veterinarians, veterinarians to be avoided, lost dogs, dog groomers in México, this and that and the other thing about dogs seems at times to be overwhelming, most particularly because of the soupy rhetoric employed. As a person who choses not to cohabit with animals, I can only look on all this with amusement mixed with perplexity.
04 January 2010
02 January 2010
REWARD for LOST DOG named HOBO
From the current Civil List along with my thoughts as I read:
Re: REWARD for LOST DOG named HOBO - lives in San Anonio
d wood wrote:
REWARD $1000 PESOS being offered. Hobo is still missing. Any sightings?
Photos and phone contact for owner below. d wood
[One thousand pesos converts into $76.44 American at the current rate. Not bad. I am keeping my eyes peeled for Hobo myself, but no sightings here yet.]
Can You Help?
Back in October I passed along a warning about Ouija Boards that had been posted on The Civil List. You will recall that The Civil List is a Yahoo Group, members only, catering to American expatriates in San Miguel and those of other nationalities who would like to do business with those expatriates in some way, shape, or form.
I promised that I would continue to pass along helpful and informative entries from The Civil List here. Obviously, I have not done well at that. I will do better.
I promised that I would continue to pass along helpful and informative entries from The Civil List here. Obviously, I have not done well at that. I will do better.
01 January 2010
Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes in México City is as imposing a structure as you will run across.
There is a large plaza in front. I visited this building on December 19.
I neglected to pay the few additional pesos at the admissions desk that were required for permission to take pictures. Consequently, after taking only a couple of pictures inside, I was unceremoniously shut down by security.
There are an enormous number of pieces of art on exhibit in this building. Murals by David Alfaro Sequeiros are featured here. Sequeiros was a true red, true communist believer throughout his life. A man's man, he fought in the Spanish Civil War. His other red credentials were impeccable. His style is remarkably different than Rivera's.
The Sequeiros murals in Bellas Artes are even more difficult to photograph. They are situated around the balcony of the third floor. The most famous features the personification of democracy in the form of an aggressive, full-breasted woman breaking loose from her chains:
This is my photograph of the same mural from the other side of the top floor. You can see some visitors walking in front of it, which will give you some idea of its scale.
Some other Sequeiros murals in Bellas Artes:
And lunch afterward at the famous La Opera bar, nothing but classy inside:
31 December 2009
The Stairwell Mural
The main problem with murals, as I have said before, is that one cannot take them down, crate them up, and take them on tour. If one is a fan of murals, as I am, one must go to the mural. The mural is never going to come to you.
I came to appreciate better the second great problem with murals when I saw Diego Rivera's mural depicting the history of México in the stairwell of the National Palace in México City. There is no way to photograph murals in order to give someone else even an approximation of what they are like in the flesh. I have looked at a lot of professional photographers' attempts at this on the internet. They all fail miserably. And so knowing in advance that I am going to fail, too, I am going to show you some photos anyway.
There are many Rivera murals in the National Palace that he painted between 1929 and 1945. I am only going to address that mural in the main stairwell. Diega Rivera was not an admirable man. We need not go into details here. However, this mural depicting the history of México is incredible. It includes depictions of over 1,100 figures from Mexican history. It was painted with paint that Rivera formulated himself using natural dyes and other natural pigments from Mexico.
The main stairwell consists of three walls, the two smaller side walls and the large central wall capped by five arches. The mural covers these three walls. In photos one can usually only see three of the arches of the central wall because columns on the second floor make it difficult to get a wide angle picture of the entire central wall. One climbs the stairs, goes around to the railing on the second floor, and gapes a this thing. The right wall depicts the ancient, mythical world of México, and the left wall depicts two alternate visions of the future of México. The big central mural sets out the meat of modern Mexican history under the five big arches.
When one sees photos like this, it simply appears a mishmash. So I tried to take just a few detail photos to give you a better idea of thing.
The Inquisition.
Spaniards Torturing the Indigenous Folk.
The Mexican-American War of 1847 is depicted at the top of this panel.
Land, Liberty, and Bread.
I came to appreciate better the second great problem with murals when I saw Diego Rivera's mural depicting the history of México in the stairwell of the National Palace in México City. There is no way to photograph murals in order to give someone else even an approximation of what they are like in the flesh. I have looked at a lot of professional photographers' attempts at this on the internet. They all fail miserably. And so knowing in advance that I am going to fail, too, I am going to show you some photos anyway.
There are many Rivera murals in the National Palace that he painted between 1929 and 1945. I am only going to address that mural in the main stairwell. Diega Rivera was not an admirable man. We need not go into details here. However, this mural depicting the history of México is incredible. It includes depictions of over 1,100 figures from Mexican history. It was painted with paint that Rivera formulated himself using natural dyes and other natural pigments from Mexico.
The main stairwell consists of three walls, the two smaller side walls and the large central wall capped by five arches. The mural covers these three walls. In photos one can usually only see three of the arches of the central wall because columns on the second floor make it difficult to get a wide angle picture of the entire central wall. One climbs the stairs, goes around to the railing on the second floor, and gapes a this thing. The right wall depicts the ancient, mythical world of México, and the left wall depicts two alternate visions of the future of México. The big central mural sets out the meat of modern Mexican history under the five big arches.
When one sees photos like this, it simply appears a mishmash. So I tried to take just a few detail photos to give you a better idea of thing.
29 December 2009
Uva uvam videndo varia fit.
A problem has been solved. A mystery is no longer a mystery.
You will recall that in Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Augustus McCrae fashions a sign for the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium. A man who valued education, Gus felt compelled to add a Latin motto to the sign. Even though he had no idea what it meant, he chose, "Uva uvam vivendo varia fit." [Emphasis mine.] He chose that motto only because he thought it looked right.
This has bothered me for years because Larry McMurtry never tells us what this Latin motto means. I have finally figured it out. Gus mispelled videndo, carving vivendo into the sign instead. Therein lies the problem.
Uva uvam videndo varia fit literally means, "A grape changes color in seeing another grape." The sense of it is, "a bad friend makes you a bad person," or "a good friend makes you a good person."
No need to thank me.
You will recall that in Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Augustus McCrae fashions a sign for the Hat Creek Cattle Company and Livery Emporium. A man who valued education, Gus felt compelled to add a Latin motto to the sign. Even though he had no idea what it meant, he chose, "Uva uvam vivendo varia fit." [Emphasis mine.] He chose that motto only because he thought it looked right.
This has bothered me for years because Larry McMurtry never tells us what this Latin motto means. I have finally figured it out. Gus mispelled videndo, carving vivendo into the sign instead. Therein lies the problem.
Uva uvam videndo varia fit literally means, "A grape changes color in seeing another grape." The sense of it is, "a bad friend makes you a bad person," or "a good friend makes you a good person."
No need to thank me.
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