Spring and the City

An exceedingly brief, one-day stop in Washington, DC still left me some free time to not only visit the Smithsonian's Natural History museum, but also stroll through some of the most obvious monuments. Despite the surprising Chicago-style winds, I still managed to snap some mobile shots of the springtime surroundings, while trying not to be blown away!

Heart of Moscow (From the Archives)

This is the proverbial heart of Moscow.

You can even see the Kremlin looming in the background. I could wander here for hours.

Blueprints of these streets—both the old, narrow, winding, covered with cobble stone and broad, multi-lane highways—exist semi-consciously in my mind or, perhaps, on a more primal, physical level.  I walk and walk these streets somewhere at the intersection of sight and disjointed memories: I've been here before, and I'll be here again. 

You know, I think I'm really liking this self-imposed archival section of the blog. Not only does it allow me to reevaluate my previous work, but also to discover certain aesthetically pleasing photographs that have been hiding in my files!

The Land Calls

This is the place in which I've been living for just over two years: 

Despite the fact that I appreciate many aspects of this quaint little town, it does not (yet?) feel like home.

What does is the sky over our heads, lakes and rivers at our feet, and the ever-changing wooded mountains all around--linking that which is above to things that are below--bringing us a little closer to the Sun in the day and the Moon with the stars at night, to the signing of the birds and the howling of the wolves. 

This Northern place triggers forgotten memories, perhaps, at a genetic level, of another one much like this. The sprawling lands of my ancestors. From sea to sea.

Coming into Nature is like coming home. 

Homecoming (of Sorts)

As of today, I plan to fly to Moscow, my hometown, for the first time since doing my PhD research at the federal archives in late 2009, along with a number of other European destinations. (In contrast, I've traveled throughout Japan three times in that same time period. Treachery!) 

I suspect the only updates to this blog--if any--would be of the travel-adventure (misadventure) kind. So, as I attempt to actually get some rest during my much-needed vacation, you get an equally needed break from my blogging spam! 

The two images below (of forever-"empigeoned" Dostoyevsky outside of Leninka and Tsaritsyno) were taken with a point-and-shoot. Hopefully, I can produce some heavy hitters this time around.

See you...errr...blog you in a few weeks!