tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post2895072551949340383..comments2024-03-28T07:52:07.647-04:00Comments on venezia blog: Lives Among the Leaves at Palazzo DucaleSteven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-29023157816417323532014-02-11T05:17:45.467-05:002014-02-11T05:17:45.467-05:00If you ever took the cross-town to Books & Co ...If you ever took the cross-town to Books & Co bookstore on Madison Ave between 73rd & 74th, Sasha, I was the bookbuyer/mgr there. Though, actually, it closed in June 1997, when we couldn't get a lease renewal from the Whitney (they ended up renting the space to a furnishings boutique called "Homer"--which was a bit ironic, as one of the things the bookstore was known for was carrying the Harvard Loeb library of Greek & Latin titles in bi-lingual editions). <br /><br />The less I say about NYC now the better.Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-83256370352848140602014-02-05T02:41:43.391-05:002014-02-05T02:41:43.391-05:00I spent some time living in NYC in 1997 at the fa...I spent some time living in NYC in 1997 at the farthest west of 71st Street, also was fascinated so profoundly, that upon leaving the city came up with a formula - "A day spent elsewhere is a day you've failed to live in the New York City (i.e.wasted)" - <br /><br />The last time I came there was in 2007, I've celebrated my 40th birthday staying at The Pierre, visiting the Metropolitan Museum, eating out in typical diners, it was all great. But somehow it was also evident that my infatuation with this city is a thing of the past, something cherished but no longer acute.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05288500845815423152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-90749316037084315442014-02-04T12:17:59.430-05:002014-02-04T12:17:59.430-05:00PS Those are beautiful pics of the capitals, Sasha...PS Those are beautiful pics of the capitals, Sasha. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-36207263778136919882014-02-04T12:15:08.567-05:002014-02-04T12:15:08.567-05:00I tend to think there is a virtually infinite numb...I tend to think there is a virtually infinite number of things or details to notice in Venice, but only insofar as they happen to strike one, not (at least for me) as something worth necessarily writing about or photographing. In truth, one good thing about living here is that I generally never concern myself with how much there may or may not be to see in some definitive sense: I can do the ordinary things one must do in life, buy groceries and so on, and happen upon things along the way, rather than be aware that I have only 3 weeks or 3 months or even a year to find out everything--or find out that there isn't as much to see as I would have hoped. I hope this is something of an answer to your question.<br /><br />That said, I've only ever madly loved one city: NYC when I moved there in '93. I really like Venice, I find it interesting, I like people here, I like living in the lagoon a great deal, I like its history, culture, art & so forth, but I doubt I have the earth-shaking passion for it that others do. Perhaps it's a matter of being older than when I moved to NYC. I don't at all like what NYC now is--a brand more than a city--and I can imagine one day leaving Venice and never wanting to return (unless to see friends). <br /><br />As for Ruskin--aside from the fact that anyone can get burned out or disappointed by any place, anything or anyone, I believe he also suffered from severe depression in his later years, which would make it hard to feel anything even for those places once so important to one. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-773585759031450332014-01-31T03:56:09.351-05:002014-01-31T03:56:09.351-05:00è vero!!è vero!!pchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12669237165720965645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-41426458055269780892014-01-31T02:24:13.992-05:002014-01-31T02:24:13.992-05:00I've also photographed these in 2012, last yea...I've also photographed these in 2012, last year I've switched to these on the facades of the Palazzo Ducale.<br /><br />http://venices101st.blogspot.ru/2014/01/blog-post.html#more<br /><br />About "all there is to see" in a more general terms - do you see Venice as an inexhaustible source of inspiring ideas, stories, etc? I often think about Ruskin's last visit to the city when he was looking at all these things he catalogized so avidly and feeling nothing, not a flicker of whatever.<br /><br />There are Top 10 sights that are unfailingly entertaining, Top 50 and probably Top 100, but beyond these - as I feel - begins esoterica that can inspire only someone who is firmly on track of learning EVERYTHING about Venice. <br /><br />You live there, you see it every day - what are your thoughts on that?Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05288500845815423152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-54822903526471421352014-01-30T06:30:16.857-05:002014-01-30T06:30:16.857-05:00And what a novel it is, pc, and how it does go on...And what a novel it is, pc, and how it does go on and on! Which is a good thing, I think. When I was in grad school "text" was the big term: everything was a "text", even paintings--or dog houses--and it was important (at the time) to remember the word's Latin origins in the act of weaving. Texts were woven like spider webs, said various writers, and the Palazzo Ducale is certainly one grand web--in which it's a pleasure to get stuck. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-19908447232724686642014-01-30T06:14:57.999-05:002014-01-30T06:14:57.999-05:00Yes, I find it easier to imagine (however vaguely)...Yes, I find it easier to imagine (however vaguely) the long-gone hands that made such small things than, say, the ones that created the vast history paintings inside the palace. Steven Varni, aka Sig. Nonlosohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066672605318740533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-57864250230267352712014-01-30T04:41:12.343-05:002014-01-30T04:41:12.343-05:00An inspired heading...I love this 'lives among...An inspired heading...I love this 'lives among the leaves'....! I, too, have noted these small people; I'm going to embrace the idea that "this could be vast novel, ... in which an entire world view is spelled out in painstaking detail" and follow the story more closely now. Grazie mille<br />pchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12669237165720965645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151589473709505648.post-25367962670083937962014-01-29T22:11:13.781-05:002014-01-29T22:11:13.781-05:00When I see something so evocative I always wonder ...When I see something so evocative I always wonder who was the person who so skillfully created such faces. If only we could have a window in time.<br /><br />I must say, the marble looks so dirty! Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15305773287880023217noreply@blogger.com