Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Collection of Sand” by Italo Calvino – Book Review

Posted on December 3, 2014 by randysrules

by Randy Bosch                     December 3, 2014 “Collection of Sand”, essays translated by Martin McLaughtin, Mariner Books – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston – New York.  First published in Italian as “Collezione di Sabbia”, October 1984. This collection of 38 non-fiction stories … Continue reading →

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Venice – Urban Palimpsest and Tomb of Memories

Posted on January 6, 2014 by randysrules

“Palimpsest” (“palinsesto” in Italian) has its origins in the Greek word for “scraped again”. The original reference may have been to layered manuscripts, where older text was no longer more valued by the holder than the underlaying and very rare … Continue reading →

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“City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas” by Roger Crowley – Book Review

Posted on February 29, 2012 by randysrules

Roger Crowley’s new book, “City of Fortune – How Venice Ruled the Seas” (Random House, New York, 2011, 432pp.),  is a stunning narrative history of Venice’s Empire, the Stato da Mar, Territory of the Sea. His history of this incredible place looks … Continue reading →

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The Sociability of Art

Posted on January 20, 2012 by randysrules

Buying art as a gift for others is not to be done casually just to convey a “pretty picture”, but to share a message or experience, identify a relationship, demonstrate an understanding, or make a statement – The Sociability of Art! Hugh MacLeod, … Continue reading →

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Campo de la Madonna de l’Orto

Posted on March 28, 2011 by randysrules

Not far from Sant’Alvise in Sestiere Cannaregio, Venice (the subject of a previous post on RenaissanceRules), Campo de la Madonna de l’Orto (Madonna of the Orchard) faces the straight-line extension of the same rio but, per typical Venetian nomenclature, with a name evocative of … Continue reading →

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Venice – The Garden City

Posted on January 4, 2011 by randysrules

I remember reading a number of old guides to Venice that emphasized an almost total lack of “green” – parks, gardens, even of trees in the campi  (authors’ names withheld to protect the silly).  I was therefore first perplexed by those recollections and … Continue reading →

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“Watermark” by Joseph Brodsky – A Book Review

Posted on December 31, 2010 by randysrules

Joseph Brodsky wrote Watermark in 1989 (Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 1992; First paperback edition 1993, 135pp. ISBN: 978-0-374-52382-4.  $13.00US).  He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1987 and was the United States of America’s Poet Laureate in 1991 … Continue reading →

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After the Party

Posted on October 11, 2010 by randysrules

The Belgian exhibit at the 11th International Exposition of Architecture, “Out There – Architecture Beyond Building”, at the 2008 la Biennale di Venezia was an extraordinary and very educational part of a world-class event. The exhibit was entitled “1907…After the Party” The Belgian … Continue reading →

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The Cinderella Theory

Posted on July 26, 2010 by randysrules

“If the shoe fits, wear it.” I recall first hearing this pithy aphorism spoken by Greg Otte in the 1980’s and referred to by him as the Cinderella Theory.  I am not referencing the 1989 George Clinton song of the same name (never … Continue reading →

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Bach and Sons – Musical Interlude

Posted on July 26, 2010 by randysrules

Friday night, we attended the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra Concert, “Bach and Sons”.  The musical program was assembled by guest conductor Reinhard Goebel and featured the very talented Paolo Bordignon playing the double harpsichord with an orchestra of about 46 additional … Continue reading →

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