Trip to New York City, 2012 — Part 1

My nephew lives in New York City and works as a jazz string bassist. My sister-in-law visits him occasionally. This year she suggested that my brother and I meet them there. I was able to go on Tuesday afternoon and come back Wednesday evening, spending about 26 hours in the Big Apple. I went by train, which was much more pleasant than driving, although it probably cost more than driving there and parking somewhere.

I got to my hotel shortly after 4:00 p.m. In the three hours before I was due to meet the others at s-i-l's hotel, which was a few blocks away, I walked a couple of blocks to Columbus Circle*, took some pictures, strolled through a tiny bit of Central Park, saw a bit more of the neighborhood, and had a little snack. Back at my hotel, I read the introduction to The Tipping Point and said my evening prayer.

When we met at my sister-in-law's hotel, I gave my nephew a piece of art titled "Bongo," by Jack Bilander. The original etching was done for the U. S. Embassy in Tokyo, at least 50 years ago. Several prints were made (perhaps 150) and signed by the artist, and I don't know for sure if this was the original or one of the prints, but I think it's probably not the original. But anyway, what with the musical theme and the association with the U.S. and Japan, as well as the quality of the work itself, I thought he might like it; and he seemed to.

We went to dinner at a Spanish restaurant called La Nacional. They said it was a tapas place and, with my limited experience, I was dreading salsa and chips. But it was really pretty good. We had shrimp in garlic sauce, sauteed mushrooms, large fried sardines with their heads on, "patatas bravas" (diced potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce), all accompanied by a nice rioja wine. Afterwards we went to Times Square, and strolled the remaining 14 blocks to my hotel — stopping for coffee along the way. I had thought I'd stop into the bar at the hotel, but I was sufficiently tired that I just went to bed.

I'll tell you about Wednesday in another post or posts. And if I get around to it, I may also post some pics.

*There were skateboarders at Columbus Circle. I wondered if in warmer weather they would go shirtless. I'm not going to go there again just to check it out. But if you happen to be in NYC at 5:00 p.m. on a hot day, you might want to go to Columbus Circle.

My Barber Puts Me to Shame — and Other Stuff

My Barber. Maybe the first part of the title is elitist, but it's what I was thinking as I walked home from the barber shop on Thursday. He started me off with a little joke which it took me a minute to got. I usually wait two or three months between haircuts, so my hair was getting pretty long. He said I needed a haircut or a violin.

While he cut my hair we started blandly by talking about the weather. When I mentioned the snow in Rome, that led to some conversation about place in Italy we'd like to visit. He said he had never got to Rome: his only time in Italy was many years ago when he was in the Navy and his ship went to Naples. But he had liked it when they went to Holland, and he had a week in Amsterdam. At that point I was thinking sailor+Amsterdam=visits to prostitutes. But before I could come up with a bland comment or question, he said he had loved visiting the Rijksmuseum and being able to stand in front of "The Night Watch."

That led me to ask if he had been to the exhibition of Dutch paintings at the Peabody Essex Museum. Well, he had been six times! (I went twice.) After he had seen the whole exhibit, he went back and looked more carefully at some of the specific paintings. So I mentioned that I had seen a movie at Cabot Street Cinema. "The Mill and the Cross?" he asked. He gets their tabloid fliers and wishes he could get there more often, but the performance schedule is difficult for him. OTOH, he has an opportunity to buy a DVD of the movies for $25. We talked about it for a bit. He also told me that he was taking a course in art appreciation, and I said I thought the movie would fit in with it very well, and he said my enthusiasm for it was inclining him to buy it.

Next he mentioned that he often spent a half hour on the art course before he came to work. This called The Teaching Company to mind, and, sure enough, they produced the course. He has maybe six of the courses, and he really likes them. (I've bought a lot of their courses, but, unlike him, I haven't taken the time to watch most of them. It's like my unread books.)

Edited to add: At some point the discussion turned to music. He was of the opinion that Bach is the greatest of the Baroque composers. I commented that when I was a boy, I knew that my dad liked Bach, but I didn't care for Bach that much. While I didn't want to say exactly that Bach is an acquired taste, the fact is that at some point something clicked, and I could really appreciate Bach. Similarly, in the 1980's I could agree with a colleague at work that the Bach cantatas played every Sunday morning on WGBH were "lugubrious" at some point something clicked, and now I appreciate them.

Finally we turned to language study. It's fascinating for him watching his 2-3 year old granddaughter learn English, and he thinks immersion is the best way to learn a language. He has got to a point with his German that he almost never needs a dictionary when he reads the German "Readers' Digest." (I dabble in languages, and maybe have gotten beyond beginner stage with German, but I've never achieved that degree of proficiency since I studied French and Latin in school.)

As I paid, he commented that he had really enjoyed talking with me — he could never have such a conversation with most customers. As I reflected on it, I realized that he was pursuing his interests much more deeply than I do, and, without a university degree, is a truly educated man.


Other Stuff.  I went to three musical events in Boston this week: an opera on Wednesday, a symphony concert on Thursday, and a chamber music concert and social evening at the Harvard Musical Association on Friday.

Continuation: The opera was interesting, and I wish I had a chance to go back and hear it again to pick up on details I think I missed first time around. The symphony was good, but unexciting. See my music blog for a bit more about the symphony concert.

Friday evening I went to Scollay Square. Natalia was my waitress, and she did a good job, but, unlike Wendy on my previous visit there, she showed no interest in my book or in having any real conversation. But after a while, three people arrived and sat at a table to my left: a middle aged man and woman, and a blond teenaged boy in a short-sleeved T shirt. At first I was sorry I hadn't sat somewhere where I could see him without turning my head, but eventually I decided it was a good thing, because I might have stared at him too obviously if I had had a direct view. We left at the same time, and I noticed that the boy had a skateboard.

The concert was an interesting one. The musicians were the Leipzig Quartet and the first half of the concert was an adaptation of something they have done in Germany based on Thomas Mann's novel Doctor Faustus. They perform pieces which they find somehow related to the main character of the novel, Adrian Leverkühn, a composer who sells his soul to the devil to become even greater than Beethoven. Between each piece they play, there is a reading of part of the dialogue between Leverkühn and the devil. The program notes explained that Mann intended this as an allegory about Germany under Hitler, which sold its soul to the devil for the sake of empire. I thought, based on the notes, that the book would be worth reading, but the conversation between the two was so wordy and abstract that it killed any interest in reading the book. (But too bad Mann hadn't had the foresight to write it in the 1920's, before Germany made the final pact with the devil, rather than in the 1940's, when it no longer could serve as a warning, but only as a lamentation.)

As I was on my way to Boston, I somehow came to think of the phrase, "soak an eye," and I realized that it fits the scene in "Casablanca" where Rick brushes aside Sam's reluctance to play "As Time Goes By." Rick tells Sam, "If she can stand it, soak an eye."*

* If I'm being too vague about this, just ask, and I'll be happy to explain. But just read it aloud, and it'll probably make sense.

Theology of the Body — 2011/11/30

"The nude body has always been — and always will be — a favorite subject for artists from painters to poets. In Scripture, the nude body is as central subject of the Song of Songs. For Christians, if there is any question whether the naked body is a fit subject for art, the Song of Songs should put it to rest.

"So the question is not whether the body should be described, but how. In the plastic arts … the artist doesn't simply reproduce the model. He expresses his artistic idea about the subject. This gives form to his interior values. In order to give creative justice to the full truth of the body, the artist should be aware of that truth. In other words, an artist should be pure of heart.

"… Through the nude form, [great art] leads the viewer to glimpse the human spirit. Contemplating the human body in art, we are invited to ponder the dignity and beauty of man, in the full truth of masculinity and femininity.

"When the nude body is depicted with dignity … the viewer isn't drawn to 'look lustfully.' Instead, the nuptial meaning of the body is revealed in a way that inspires awe for its God-given glory.

"There are also artistic representations of the body … that offend human dignity. This is not the fault of the … body … but of the way in which it is depicted. To reduce the body to an object for the enjoyment of lust denigrates its true value.

"Artistic morality involves not just the artist but … the viewer, reader, or listener. Just as the responsible artist seeks to portray the human person in the fullness of truth, the responsible recipient strives to appreciate the nuptial meaning of the body depicted in the work. He is … an active seeker of the truth.

" …

"We should always live in a way that affirms the dignity of the body. This applies to all areas of life — personal, social, and cultural. The affirmation of the body is essential for fostering a healthy culture, one that leads the heart toward goodness, beauty, and truth."


This brings us to the end of the second part of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body in Simple Language. I began this series of excerpts in March 2010 with the last chapter of Part I., "Body and Gift." From then on, I have been giving excerpts from Part II., "Purity of Heart" because I thought it would be more interesting to see the meaning of the theology for daily life. Now, rather that continuing on to Part III., "Heaven and Earth," I think it would be better to go back to the beginning of the book which gives the premises for what has appeared in Part II.


So my next post in this series will take us back to "The Beginning," which is the title of the first chapter. Meanwhile, if you want to review Part II., you can see all previous posts by clicking on the label "Theology of the Body."

Theology of the Body — 2011/11/08

"When the gift-giving meaning of the body is obscured, distorted, or misrepresented,art becomes a lie. This is what happens in pornography. The body … is depersonalized and turned into an object for lust.

"…. The so-called naturalists demand the right to reproduce 'everything that is human.' What others call pornography, they defend as a realistic depictionof humanity.

"But in the end, it is precisely this — the whole truth about man — that is lost when ; the body is reduced to an object for lust. In order to speak about true realism in art, the full truth about man as created in the image of God must be considered.

"… [T]he principles principles governing interpersonal relations still apply within the realm of art. The naked human body has a 'language.' It expresses the spirit. When given in trust and love, the body is the basis of a communion of persons. Because the naked human body has such importance, it must be depicted with great care to preserve its meaning in art.

"Only within certain boundaries can the truth about the body be preserved. In film, photography, and mass media, there is a dangerous tendency to separate the body from the person. Reproduced on paper or on screen, the naked body can cease to communicate the person. It often becomes, instead, an anonymous object.

"Because the glory and beauty of the human body is at stake, we cannot remain indifferent to culture. We do not oppose pornography out of a narrow, puritanical idea of morality. Nor do we oppose it out of a Manichaean fear or hatred of the body, as is often asserted. The exact opposite is true. We oppose pornography out of respect for the dignity of the body."

Theology of the Body — 2011/11/02

"The naked human body, in its full masculinity and femininity, has the meaning of a gift from person to person. This is the basis of all ethical guidelines regarding nakedness. The dignity of the person must always be upheld.

"In the husband/wife relationship, the nude body achieves the nuptial meaning through the sincere gift of self. But in art, the nude body takes on a different meaning. First, it becomes a model for the artist; then, once the art is complete, the body becomes a subject for the viewer.

"To an extent, objectifying the body is necessary in art. This raises a number fo problems, which multiply as the motives of artists and viewers are brought into question. These problems do not mean that the nude human body is an inappropriate subject for art — only that this is a complicated moral issue, not simply a matter of artistic taste.

"When sin entered the world, there arose, along with shame, a need for bodily privacy — especially between the sexes. Among sinful human beings, sexual privacy shields the gift from the gaze of lust. We don't just wear clothing to protect ourselves from the weather, but to guard our dignity. …

When the boundary of shame is crossed, nakedness becomes an insult. In the Nazi concentration camps, forced nakedness was used to depersonalize victims and strip them of their dignity. An analogous assault on the person occurs in pornography.

"In art, as in life, the right to privacy must be respected in order to preserve the gift-giving meaning of the body."


Comment: Here the focus is on artistic depictions of the human body. I'm wondering, though, about the implications of what he says about the basic meaning of the body and the naked body, for non-sexual nudity among persons who are not husband and wife. For example, what if children had been born before the Fall. Nudity would not have signified a gift of self between parents and children nor among siblings like that which exists between husband and wife. It seems to me that the phrase, "especially among the sexes," suggests that in situations where lust is neither intended nor experienced, nudity can be permissible.

Theology of the Body — 2011/10/23

The next few posts in this series present John Paul II's thoughts on nudity in art. I briefly summarized them in an earlier post giving some of my own thoughts on nudity, which I hope are consistent with his. I owe my acceptance of the legitimacy of non-lustful nudity to my learning of his opinions.


"As we have seen, many moral problems arise from reducing the body to an object, instead of reverencing it as a sign of the person. But what happens when the body becomes a subject of art?

"… Artists give expression to their experiences of the body[,] and others, in turn, encounnter the body through their art. Looking at a painting of a nude, for example, the viewer is aware of observing a body — not just paint on a canvas. For that reason, Christ's words about gazing lustfully have continued relevance within the sphere of culture.

"If purity of heart should guide how we relate to living bodies, it should also guide how we relate to depictions of the body … . We must pursue purity not only in our interactions with other people, but also in our interactions with works of art.

"In performance arts, such as theatre and ballet, the body becomes a work of art in itself. In the plastic arts, including sculpture and painting, the body is a model for representation. Film and photography lie somewhere in-between.

"Something different takes place in each medium, even though the subject (the body) is the same. In painting and sculpture, the body is a model, which is then transformed by the artist's vision. Film and photography, on the other hand, reproduce the actual form of a living person. This is an important distinction to make when considering ethical questions in art. …

"If the theology of the body is a true education in being human, how can we foster a cultural climate in which it will flourish? What is the role of art in encouraging purity of heart? Our [next] reflections will consider these questions."

Museum — 17th Century Dutch Art

A week ago I (finally) went to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, to see the exhibition of paintings from the private collection of Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo. Apparently the van Otterloos have often lent paintings from their collection to museums here and in the Netherlands, but they have never done such a large exhibition. If I understood correctly, this is their entire collection. It ran in Salem from February 26 through June 19. It will move on to San Francisco and be at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from July 9 through October 2. Then it's on to Houston, where it will be at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from November 13, 2011 through February 12, 2012.

I found it very worthwhile. Of course, everybody's taste differs, but there were paintings in just about all the genres represented that really caught my eye: landscapes, seascapes, village and country scenes, interiors, and portraits. There is also a cute painting of a little sleeping dog.

The "catalogue" of the exhibition, as they call these things, is titled "Golden: Dutch and Flemish Masterworks from the Rose-Marie an Eijk van Otterloo Collection," and it's available through Amazon.com for under $41.00. (I bought it at the museum at list price of $65.00.) It's a big, heavy book, with 404 heavy stock pages, and, as an Amazon reviewer said, "All the works are beautifully illustrated, often with large, full-page reproductions, and a detailed presentation of each painting (description, meaning, provenance, exhibition history) accompanies each illustration." The same reviewer also said, "The collection's depth is absolutely breathtaking, from Rembrandt's 1632 Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh (the Van Otterloo's had to part with 18 works from their collection to be able to acquire it), to Saenredam's 1660 Interior of the St Bavokerk (only about 50 works by Saenredam have survived, most of them in museums), from Jacob Van Ruysdael's landscapes (three of them!) to Frans Hals's 1660 Portrait of a Preacher, etc." and, "An exceptional publication for an exceptional collection, and a must-have for any artlover's library."

So if you can get to the San Francisco or Houston showings, I think it will be well worth seeing. Whether or not you go, the book is a real bargain, IMO. You get to have and keep reproductions of all these beautiful paintings and pictures of the furniture from the same time and place which is also part of the exhibition; and it only costs you about twice or three times what you'd need to pay to get into the museum!

Some Thoughts on Nudity

In Principle. It seems, as I reflect on it, that nakedness has always been attractive to me, but I had gotten the idea that it was somehow immoral except in limited circumstances, such as showering. But I have come to realize a couple of things. One is that if the Bible says Adam and Eve were naked without shame before the Fall, that is, before they sinned, nakedness can't be inherently immoral. Another is that nudity is not necessarily sexual — non-sexual nudity is possible even now, after the Fall.

But why did Adam and Eve want to be covered after the Fall? Pope John Paul II, in his "Theology of the Body," explains that among the elements of our fallen condition, is lust. We are aware of our and others' lustfulness, and we want to preserve ourselves from being reduced to objects of lust. We want to preserve our dignity as persons, not objects. And we do this by covering our sexual organs.

Clothing is also to some extent cultural. Beyond the genitals, displaying other areas can be erotic when keeping them covered is customary.

When there is no intention of provoking lust, nudity is not immoral. So, clearly, nudity when one is alone is not morally problematic. Beyond that, there is no problem with nudity within a family that is accustomed to it. Moving beyond the family to other settings, such as beaches and other social settings, it seems to me that it depends on expectations. Obviously the more people involved, the greater the chance that some will begin to experience lustful feelings. But if people who enjoy the comfort of non-sexual nudity by themselves or in their family get together on beaches or at resorts, it seems that that should not present a problem.

John Paul II also sees artistic nudity as acceptable. In his view, which makes sense to me, it depends on the intention of the artist. A work which respects the integrity of the person is acceptable. One which is created in a way which is intended to provoke lust is not. For the viewer, of course, the reaction is also important. For example, here's a photo which Edward at "Pardon My Schadenfreude" posted a couple of months ago. To me this is legitimate. It is not eroticized. The model is not doing anything sexually inviting. It seems reminiscent of Michelangelo's David, showing a human person in his simple beauty. I'd say one who finds himself turned on by it should not look at it, but I certainly would not consider the photographer a pornographer for this work.

Personal Experience. Maybe eight or nine years ago I began regularly sleeping in the nude. One night I just decided to give it a try and found it  comfortable. After my mother died and I was normally alone in the house, I began being naked around the house from time to time. Again it is a matter of feeling comfortable. In winter the air is so dry, that after I get dressed in the morning to go out, I rarely feel like getting naked until it's time to go to bed. But in the more humid weather, nudity is more inviting. Often I don't bother, once I'm dressed. (I've never been one for changing clothes when I didn't have to.) But there are days when being naked just feels good. For example, today's outdoor high temperature was 91.1°F (33C), and at about 8:00 p.m. it was 83.1 (28.4). Indoors at that time is was 86.5 (30.3) upstairs, 81.7 (27.5) downstairs, and 76.8 (24.9) here in the cellar. Nudity is much more comfortable than wearing clothes.

One limitation is my brother, who tends to visit twice a week. I've always believed that he'd freak out if he saw me naked or knew I was a closet nudist. He seems to still think that unnecessary nudity is immoral. Just last Wednesday, I knew he would visit in the evening. I was in the cellar at my computer, naked, at about 2:00 when he came in the back door. Yikes! He usually doesn't arrive before 4:00. And the shirt and shorts I had available in case someone came to the door were in the dining room. I dashed around the cellar and couldn't find anything to put on that wouldn't make it obvious I had been nude. So I went up the stairs. Fortunately, he had gone to the wing where his bedroom is, and I heard him close the door to the bathroom off the kitchen. So I ran through the kitchen to the dining room, grabbed the clothes, and went to the living room to put them on. By the time he got out of the bathroom, I was "fully dressed." But it was a narrow escape. He virtually never comes straight to the cellar when he arrives. But if he hadn't gone to the bathroom, getting to my clothes and putting them on unseen would have been much dicier. Not that I was doing anything wrong, just that he'd have been greatly upset.

Merry Christmas

     Warmest best wishes for a very Merry Christmas to all who read this post. Even if you aren't a Christian I hope you will have a great day. And for Christians, we have the added joy of remembering the birth of the one who came to bring us eternal life by uniting humanity with God in his own person and redeeming us from our sinfulness.

     I've already helped out at my parish's 4:00 Mass, and I plan to be at the Midnight Mass and at the 11:00 a.m. one. My brother who is visiting from Boston and I will exchange presents, and open a few from outside the house, around 7:30 a.m. At 2:00 p.m. we'll join our aunt and three of her friends for dinner. Since I won't have any leftover turkey, I'll cook a rib roast for dinner for my brother and me on the second day of Christmas, aka Boxing Day, aka St. Stephen's Day.

     Here are a few views of the decorations at the Naturgesetz place.

Wreath beside side door.

Wreath on front door.

My Christmas tree on the mantel. Including the base, it's about 21 inches tall. You can see a portrait of my dad reflected in the mirror. It was painted when he was about 45 for my grandfather. We got it when Gramps died. If the place looks a bit cluttered, that's because it is.

Quilt on the side door.

Japanese picture from brother and sister-in-law, hung on wall scroll in entry hall.

This one's in the living room. You can see that it is thirty years old. It's homemade. I like thistles. If I were entitled to a floral badge, I think I'd choose the thistle. You can see the straps at the corners that hold the picture on the scroll.

Creche on top of TV.  Photo is one of my great grandmothers. She's working on a piece of embroidery which is framed on the wall above and to the right of this scene. The photo is in a frame made by my grandfather (her son-in-law). The vase is from Prince Edward Island, and I cut the roses a couple of months ago. (This great grandmother was not one of my PEI ancestors.)

Poinsettia from church.

Painting by fellow blogger Dean Grey , titled "Christmas Apple." Strictly speaking, it's not a Christmas decoration, since I'll have it visible all year. But I decided to include it because of the title and because it arrived in the mail today, December 24. In the picture, it is in a small wall niche. To the right is a bronze piece depicting St. Boniface which I probably got in Fulda in 2005. Since I took this picture, I have put the painting in a frame and moved it to my bedroom.

     Again, Merry Christmas to all.

Dean Grey Has 3 Paintings on Auction on eBay

The first item is a male nude sketch. The auction closes Sunday evening,  August 23. So look quickly and put in your bid if you'd like to have it.

There are two items whose auction closes on Sunday, August 30. One is a symbolic painting of a broken heart with butterflies, which Dean has explained in a post on his blog. The other is a painting of a strawberry.

All three are available for bid and can be seen on eBay.

I have been the successful bidder on three of Dean's paintings, and I can assure you that Dean takes great care to pack the paintings for shipment in a way which insures that they arrive undamaged, and he sends them promptly when he receives payment. And IMO the artwork is of a quality which makes the prices I have paid real bargains.

So take a look and if any of these items are things you find attractive, why not put in a bid? These aren't copies, or mass-produced prints. These are one-of-a-kind originals by an artist who is our friend. If you are the successful bidder, you will own a beautiful piece of art which nobody else on earth has, at a price which is highly affordable.

Gentlemen, place your bids.

Buy Dean Grey's Art

Blogger Dean Grey is a fine artist who sells some of his work on ebay. Right now several nudes are on auction. To look at those or future offerings all you have to do is go to ebay.com, search for Art, then search for Dean Grey. You'll get a page with anything of his that is currently available. (Along with a picture of James Dean that is described as grey, lol.) I won the auction for his watercolor of a hibiscus, and he sent it promptly and very well packaged to protect it.

So check it out, and let the bidding begin!