Devonian Time
25/07/08 12:20
The first modern geological map was pieced together early in the nineteenth century in England by William Smith almost single-handed. He also helped standardize some of the terms we use to describe geological periods, which is why some of these refer to parts of the English countryside. But in late July, I found myself in the country of Devon, thinking of Devonian time in a way that was quite different from the geological use of Devonian as I attended a countryside getaway with some friends and their network of acquaintences. Read More...
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The Legacy of Empires
25/07/08 12:19
The farthest east I’ve traveled in Europe before visiting Vienna was the Czech Republic, a country with a historic orientation to the west for the most part. That was a long time ago, however — 1996. On that same trip, I also visited Berlin, a place once isolated as an island of east-looking Germans. Even so, Berlin never felt like it was in the east. Perhaps in current language, Berlin was a kind of Forward Operating Base in the Cold War. In Bavaria, both Munich and Passau felt close to the east, but again the connection seemed pretty weak. Like Berlin, the east felt like more a threat than a source of ideas, oppportunities, or culture. Vienna is completely different. Vienna looks hard to the rising sun, facing downstream and east. I sense that it still thinks of itself as the capitol of the Balkans, though dressed in the latest fashions and carrying a world-weary sense of empire. Read More...
Flowing Regimes in Central Europe
25/07/08 12:07
The Danube — the Donau in German — is not a Great River like the Mississippi, the Congo, or the Amazon. But in Europe, it is a critical resource, culturally and economically. And it is a complex place. I have just returned from Vienna and a swirling mixture of ideas, impacts, and people focused on the Danube. Read More...
Great Circles: My Big Night Out & Up
02/07/08 08:27
Last April, I was in India for about a week, wandering between the Delhi and the foothills of the Himalayas with some colleagues, taking overnight second-class sleeping car train rides and long rural cab trips. But my schedule was pressing and I needed to complete some work in Delhi with some colleagues there before I returned west a day earlier than the rest of my colleagues. And I left the hill town of Mussouri and took a frightening little plane ride back to the great metropolis is Delhi. Thus began one of the strangest of my travel experiences so far. Read More...
