Paris Parfait

A Halloween party and a treat

Jeune mariee de Rabat, 1930, photograph by Jean Besancenot.

Oh, I hardly recognised you in that wonderful costume! Do you like my Moroccan bride's outfit? It was hand-embroidered and beaded, which took many, many hours to complete. And what about the maquillage? Thankfully, that's not Super Glue holding the beads. But the headpiece is a little heavy. Perhaps it will cause me to lose my balance when belly-dancing. And we are belly-dancing at this Bloglandia international party, are we not? Mais oui, mes amies!

After a few dances and some chilling refreshments - please hand me that Candy Corn, which is conspiciously absent in France, to go with this surprising slime green champagne - perhaps you'd like a little treat? Just leave a comment and on All Saints' Day, your name might be drawn from this divine chapeau that's beginning to give me a bit of a headache. The winner will receive an illustration from a French children's book, suitable for framing.

Now do you have any tricks up your sleeve? Do tell! Happy Halloween! And thanks to Constance, Gillian and LisaOceanDreamer for hosting a fabulous party!

And now for a trick I observed from my kitchen window. See those tall glass panels that reach from the ground beyond the second floor (actually in Europe it's considered the first floor)? Construction workers had to figure out quite the trick to get them into the building across the courtyard, as the panels were too tall to fit in the elevator or take up the stairwells!

But they found the solution: two guys stood on the ground and pushed the panels upwards with a rubber mallet, while two others stood in the second floor window to receive the panels. How's that for a nifty spur-of-the-moment Halloween trick??!!

Redemption

Hand-carved Islamic designs in a wooden paravent, Paris. The picture (below) is of an open doorway leading to a corridor, Mosquee de Paris. Photos by Jordana Shalhoub.

For the Writers Island prompt "haunted," a poem about a man haunted by a decision made years ago that he has yet to put right. Will he seek redemption?

For N.

Your biggest fear
should be your fiercest pride;
why are you afraid of the truth?

One day you must face her
and all these years of lies and avoidance
can't keep that moment from happening.

One bad decision at age 36
has haunted you
since you walked away.

One love resulting in a baby
you chose to ignore,
rather than face your family's wrath.

One terrible moment when
you took the wrong turn
and couldn't find your way back.

One hastily-arranged marriage
that your mother plotted
can't change the facts:

one year you loved someone
but were too scared to stay,
so you settled for less.

One big responsibility,
leaving a young woman on her own
to be strong enough for two.

One weak man
as stubborn as the stone walls
that surround your heart.

One selfish choice you now regret,
but don't know how to fix
requires just one simple step;

one act of courage
to finally take the high road
and do the right thing.

One meeting when you gaze
at a face so familiar
you wonder how you survived

one single day
without having this bright spirit
an important part of your life.

One momentous occasion
if she chooses to forgive
your unforgivable absence.

One instance you can look in the mirror
and not have to lie,
even to yourself.

One peaceful interlude
you're no longer haunted
by plaintive echoes of the past.

Spilling crimson

Can anyone tell me what kind of tree this is, spilling its crimson beauty outside a local creche and office block? Reflected in the glass windows of the building is a crane across the street, where an underground parking lot next to a church is under construction. Work began in 2006 and is scheduled for completion sometime in 2008.

Remember the "purple mountains majesty" for which America is renowned? Yes, remember is the operative word. Because the Bush administration has greenlighted many mountaintops to be bombed and destroyed. You may be aware of this shocking story about what's happening to the Southern Appalachian Mountains, but it hasn't been reported in Europe. It makes me so sad and angry that no one has been able to stop the rape and pillage of our natural resources.

I've written previously about how the Bush administration has dismantled more than 400 environmental protection laws passed over decades. Now the administration has allowed deforestation and devastation of America's rain forest, causing landslides, flooding and polluting rivers and streams and poisoning the air with as much as 38 million tons of carbon dioxide, scientists say. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 800 square miles of mountains have been destroyed, equal to a one-quarter mile wide swath of destruction from New York to San Francisco.

Evidence suggests Bush cares nothing for our environment; for our children (witness his veto of SCHIP); our cities (New Orleans); our economy (billions poured into the black hole that is Iraq, but funds cut from education and health programs eliminated.) Instead, this administration's primary preoccupation appears to be lining the pockets of their already-wealthy cronies, whether for security and rebuilding contracts in Iraq or strip-mining our natural resources, then protecting the culprits from prosecution.

What's happening in West Virginia is a national tragedy and a disgrace to the ideals on which our country was founded. Shame on this administration for their key role in destroying mountaintops, an important legacy in our country. And pity the poor residents of Appalachia, whose lives have been turned upside down by these unconscionable acts.

And yes, I meant "spilling crimson" as a metaphor for innocents' blood spilled in Iraq and Afghanistan and for the purple mountains bleeding into what's left of the soil in Appalachia.

P.S. Have a cookie - have two or three! I was so upset by this story, I baked sugar drop cookies - a recipe from Better Homes & Garden's Junior Cookbook that I first made at age nine.

Of course comfort cookies won't help the situation one iota, but they'll make us feel better for a moment or two. I'll send most of these cookies to my husband's office - otherwise, I might eat half of them, in my state of anxiety!

Noticing the details

Photographs of Paris peniches or houseboats lined up along the River Seine. My husband, who typically doesn't notice many details, took these photos of the boats' names while on a solitary stroll. He walks to and from work every day. While he notices some things that are out-of-the-ordinary and tells me about them, he doesn't often photograph them.

Seeing these photos reminded me of a passage from Julia Cameron's book Finding Water. "...Walking, the simplest of tools, is among the most profound. It makes us larger than we are. When we walk, we wake up our consciousness. We enliven our senses. We arrive at a sense of well-being..." "...That still, small voice is automatically amplified a footfall at a time.""Solvitur ambulando," St. Augustine is said to have remarked. "It is solved by walking."

And while I'd prefer to be out walking or at the horse races at Longchamp with David, I am spending the afternoon trying to clear more space in the cave (wine cellar, currently filled with furniture and collectibles, leaving little space for the wine!).

3 Gebroeders - Borekas - Three brothers, according to Merisi's Vienna for Beginners.

Eleanor - That last letter barely fit!

Houbi - Houba - Arabic names? Read Marie-Noelle's comment for a possible explanation.

L'atelier - Perhaps an artist's studio?

Like the boat's name, see you manana with another post! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday.

Photos by David Holmes

Saturday scenes

A lovely vignette at Agape, Paris. The 28-drawer hanging chest is coming home with me, possibly destined for Savannah to hold Jordana's sewing supplies. Doesn't the man in the painting look rather like a 19th-century explorer?

Wish I had room in our apartment for this mercantile chest with its original handles!

Stacked crates filled with pumpkins at a local supermarket.

A variety of pumpkins and colorful squash at the supermarket.

An art deco sculptural bas relief on a building in our neighbourhood.

Rose-tinted lights outside a new restaurant on rue de Rivoli. On Friday, I went to the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, where I couldn't resist the book Bedouin and Nomads, Peoples of the Arabian Deserts featuring the excellent work of French photographer Etienne Dahau. Whenever I buy a book like this, I try to justify the expense by telling myself it's research for my book-in-progress (which is based in the Middle East).

I also bought French stylist Michele Lalande's new book Secrets d'interieurs, which will be released December 1 in the UK and the US under the title The New French Decor: Living with Timeless Objects. This book follows closely on the heels of Lalande's and photographer Gilles Trillard's great success with their collaboration on The New Eighteenth-Century Style. If you're interested in French decor and style, I highly recommend both books.

Salon du Livre et Papiers Anciens

Photo of typewriter with a Continental Films document for a movie starring French actors Albert Prejean and Juliette Faber. The typepwriter on a desk is part of an exhibition of film noir props at Les Passages in Boulogne-Billancourt.

If you're in Paris today through November 4th, you might enjoy a visit to the Salon du Livre et Papiers Anciens. The annual event is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Espace Champerret in the 17th arrondisement. Admission is 7 euros. Take the metro to Porte de Champerret. See you there!

P.S. I am one of the winners in Ally Bean's "Tell me Something I Don't Know" contest. Check it out here - and browse through Ally's archives. She has a great sense of humour!

My favourite boulangerie and more visitors

More American visitors, this time Brenda and Doug Walton from California. They're in Paris for a month celebrating their wedding anniversary! Visit Brenda's blog here to read about their travel experiences and see samples of Brenda's work (and take a peek at her glorious studio). You're probably already familiar with Brenda's creations - I didn't know her until she contacted me about my blog. Earlier this week, they went to the secret brocante in Passy, where they were thoroughly entertained by the owner's tales of his eventful life.

The Waltons met me this afternoon to visit Agape, then came to our place for tea and conversation - and treats purchased at my favourite local boulangerie, Le Grenier au Pain. When I asked if the Waltons could take photos in the boulangerie, not only did the kind staff members agree, they invited us for a tour of the premises!

The baker Baptiste is pictured with Doug and Brenda Walton. Baptiste gets up at 4 a.m. most mornings to bake bread. Originally from Rennes, he did his boulangerie training in Chartres.

La vendeuse charmante Radia shows Brenda a special treat for a customer's birthday. Le Grenier au Pain is an award-winning boulangerie, featuring an exceptional variety of breads, sandwiches and desserts. In annual competitions, it consistently ranks among the top boulangeries in France.

Freshly-baked loaves cool on the racks.

Baskets of delicious baguettes ready for the evening rush!

Pastries await delectable fillings and embellishment.

Tea and chocolate

This afternoon I had Moroccan mint tea and shopped for alabaster bowls at the Institut de le Monde Arabe. On the way home, I couldn't resist photographing the windows of a local chocolatier. The French make a half-hearted attempt to acknowledge Halloween, decorating windows of chocolate shops and boulangeries and some stores. But they don't dress up in costumes or go trick or treating. For Europeans, the holiday to celebrate is November 1, All Saints Day.

A scarecrow, witches and chocolate ghosts, goblins and pumpkins. The pumpkins contain smaller pieces of chocolate.

And don't forget you're invited to the big Halloween party! Read all about it here.

Meanwhile, please spare a thought and a prayer or two for all those affected by the California wildfires.

The stranger and film noir

On Monday, I came across an exhibition of film noir props at Les Passages in Boulogne-Billancourt. I didn't have my camera, but inspired by the exhibit and the Writers Island prompt "the stranger," I went home and wrote this poem. Armed with my camera, today I returned to the exhibition, where a security guard stopped me at the first photo. I smiled and apologised and the minute his back was turned, sneaked a few more photos. The one above is of a French police station, complete with two baguettes and bottles of beer for the fictional officers' lunch. At far left you can see the edge of a vintage movie camera.

The stranger
looked at him and smiled
and he was lost.

Around the world
they went
with the force of a tidal wave

collecting memories and adventures
often taking them out
to polish and admire

like bright and shiny diamonds
sparkling and dazzling
in the midday sun.

So who could predict this moment:
her heart pounding in fear
and his eyes filled with menace?

Where did he get that gun,
aimed wildly in the air,
thick with threats?

A tragic ending
to a love affair
that began with such promise.

Was it the drink
that left him angry and uncertain
and her cold and distant?

Was it the jealousy
he couldn't hide
when another's eyes met hers?

Was it the thought
of her beauty embraced
by another man's passion?

Was it the sleepless nights
when dreams were elusive
and delusions rampant?

Pushing reason aside,
paranoia toughened its grip
and he began to lose control.

He hired a private detective
to dig for the dirt he imagined
lurking beneath the surface.

Despite weeks of surveillance,
nothing could be found
to stain her character.

He paid a second detective
who assured him he was wasting
his time and money.

Still he couldn't rest,
certain she must be up to something
with someone.

Like a suffocating blanket of humidity,
accusations hovered unspoken
between them

and spoiled the love
they'd given wholeheartedly
until trust gave way to suspicion.

So he drew the revolver
and aimed at her heart;
his was already destroyed.

Then he held her close
and smoothed her hair once more
as their blood merged in a pool on the floor.

I had to go upstairs and lean over the railing to get this photo, due to the frowning security guard. Spilling out of one side of the car are bundles of banknotes - the now defunct French francs - as though bankrobbers didn't get far before being captured by police.

In addition to old typewriters, telephones, pipes, newspapers and other film props (see photo above), the exhibition features a variety of movie posters. This one shows a young Juliette Binoche as the heroine-in-peril.

A Plymouth primer

The Southwest port city of Plymouth, England extends a flowery welcome to visitors. The floral design is spelled out on the Hoe, or high ground overlooking the seafront.

American and British flags flying over Pilgrims' Point, Plymouth, leading to the entrance to the Mayflower Steps. The steps are believed to be the ones the Pilgrims descended when boarding the Mayflower, before setting sail for America. In 2000, visiting for the first time, tears came to my eyes at the unexpected sight of the American flag.

The Mayflower Steps, Plymouth. Travelers descended these steps to board the Mayflower, bound for a new world.

A plaque at the Mayflower Steps honours those who made the long ocean voyage in search of religious freedom and tolerance.

The list of names of citizens sailing on the Mayflower. Perhaps William Bradford was an ancestor.

Severe August storms forced many boats to abandon the Rolex Fastnet Yacht Race and take shelter in Plymouth Harbour. Some 291 boats set out from the Isle of Wight, but few were able to complete the race.

Fastnet yachts docked following the August racing event.

Plymouth Harbour. In August, the Mountbatten breakaway was the launching pad for spectacular fireworks, set off by five professional teams participating in the British Fireworks Championship.

A working boat in the waters of Plymouth Sound.

Prayer icon for mariners on a stone wall across the road from the Mayflower Steps.

The British flag flying over stone walls at the Plymouth Citadel on the edge of Plymouth Hoe. When the Spanish Armada was sighted on 19 July, 1588 Sir Francis Drake was playing a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. Legend has it that he finished the game before boarding the Revenge. As the English fleet pursued the Armada up the Channel, Drake captured the Spanish galleon Rosario.

Children pose atop an old cannon at The Citadel.

An Art Deco swimming pool, club and cafe complex that has been partially restored to its 1930s glory.

Her Majesty's Customs House on the Barbican. My Plymouth-born husband once worked here. Nearby is a large stone building labeled "The Queen's Warehouse." When I first saw it, I thought it was where the Queen kept her extra furniture (a considerably bigger version of our cave). Of course, it's where contraband seized from ships is stored temporarily.

The hand-carved entryway to a corridor leading to an Elizabethan garden, near the Barbican, Plymouth.

The stone arched entrance to Elizabethan gardens.

Elizabethan gardens in Plymouth's "Old Town" are surrounded by renovated apartment buildings, designed to blend with their historic surroundings.

An arched window and stone walls, once part of an Elizabethan house.

An historic Elizabethan house with its original leaded windows near the Barbican, Plymouth. It is now a museum.

Brick streets in Plymouth's "Old Town" near the Barbican. Shops, art galleries and restaurants line these streets.

Retirees enjoy ice cream cones during a day out at the Barbican, Plymouth.

A memorial stone and boat filled with flowers is bordered by palm trees on Plymouth Hoe.

Photos by Tara Bradford and David Holmes.

Sunday and clearing space

Buying the newspaper, man wearing a kilt, Wye, England. Photo by David Holmes.

Hooray, it's Sunday, with plenty of time to read newspapers and books and do whatever else you like! This afternoon, I'm baking a honey pound cake, from the October Country Living magazine, sent by my lovely friend Vanessa. Then I'll descend into the cave (wine cellar) to search yet again for a bag of important documents ( Saturday's search proved futile). And what an overwhelming task it is!

To find anything in the cave - which has no electricity - I have to take a lamp with a long extension cord and plug it into an electrical outlet in the hallway. Then I must move large pieces of furniture out of the cave and line them up along the corridor. Eventually I have to reposition virtually everything in the cave, so that nothing falls on our heads or goes crashing down on the rows of wine bottles covering one wall. Yes, methinks it's time to clear some space.

What good is a gorgeous chocolate velvet Art Deco chair if it's sitting in the cave covered with sheets? And there are two antique French wrought iron daybeds taking up space, as there's no room in the apartment. Then there's that child's oak double school desk and several paintings and antique lithographs stuffed in a corner. Also taking a considerable amount of space is an eclectic collection of tables: a Napoleon III black side table; a Directoire table; an Arts and Crafts side table; a dining table and chairs; two suede cubes from Habitat - once used as a substitute for coffee tables - and a rustic Mexican sofa table.

Oh and the lamps! There's an Empire hanging lamp and at least seven lamps of all descriptions and periods stored in the cave. My husband and daughter relentlessly tease me about my penchant for lamps, lanterns and light fixtures. Then there's a 19th-century Paris apartment stairwell door complete with four stained glass panels. Every time I move the pieces, I worry about breaking the glass.

So today when I drag everything out into the hallway, guess I'd better photograph the items and list them on eBay France and Craig's List Paris. Otherwise, Di, will you just bring your truck and haul everything off to be gussied up for your Ghost Furniture line? This week I will be adding some smaller items - including a set of Limoges porcelain - to Tara's Treasures (see my sidebar).

Hope you're having a pleasant Sunday, with nice fall weather. Later this afternoon, David and I will take a walk in the Bois du Boulogne to enjoy the sunshine. Oh and congratulations to South Africa, for winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup! The next World Cup in 2011 will be hosted by New Zealand.

If I were queen...

Per the Sunday Scribblings prompt, "My first act as queen will be..."

Two leaders currently batting about inflammatory talk of "World War III:"

I'd have them stand
face-to-face,
those war-mongering
blustering fools
always threatening
to blow each other up,
yet hiding behind rhetoric
that fuels the fire.

A certain "relevant" president:

Sit down for a chat
with the residents of New Orleans
who lost their homes
and all their worldly possessions
and explain why
the richest country in the world
failed to help
despite all those (empty) promises.

Talk to that young baby-faced boy
on the plane bound for Cairo;
tell him why he has to travel
three days to a foreign oil rig
to find work
because the hurricane took
his business and his family's livelihood
and no aid was forthcoming.

What reason will you give
to that young mother
as her child is turned away
from a hospital emergency room
because you vetoed a bill
designed to help low income families
get health insurance:
yet another child left behind?

Tell the American people
why you set out to bend
or ignore the Constitution
while you and your cronies
indulge in nefarious acts
and repeatedly break the law
in the guise of protection,
while trampling on our rights.

Brash personalities on a faux news channel:

They'd discover the sting
of words meant to wound
the spirit and ruin lives
in the name of television ratings.
They'd learn how it hurts
to fall victim to falsehoods
designed to smear their names
and destroy their livelihood.

When they opened their mouths
nothing would come out
but sweetness and light
and all their compatriots
who claim to report news,
but prefer igniting controversy
would turn away in horror
and refuse to listen.

Photo of graffiti on a waterfront warehouse fence in York, England.

Outrage. Fury. Disgust. Where is their respect for law?

(And hooray for Christopher Dodd, who's put a "hold" on the bill giving immunity to telecoms!)

"While the President may think that it's right to offer immunity to those who break the law and violate the right to privacy of thousands of law-abiding Americans, I want to assure him it is not a value we have in common and I hope the same can be said of my fellow Democrats in the Senate. For too long we have failed to respect the rule of law and failed to protect our fundamental civil liberties. I will do what I can to see to it that no telecommunications giant that was complicit in this Administration's assault on the Constitution is given a get-out-of-jail-free card." - Sen. Christopher Dodd

The Bush administration has acknowledged repeatedly breaking numerous laws by illegally spying on Americans. To add insult to injury, Congress now wants to let the telecoms companies that cooperated in this ongoing scandal off the hook! Where has happened to our elected representatives? Where is their backbone, their respect for judicial authority and for civil liberties??!!

A federal court has ruled that the telecoms companies knew it was illegal to spy on Americans' comunications and are therefore responsible for their actions. Yet these senators think they simply can rewrite the law? Outrageous!

Some excerpts from Glenn Greenwald's excellent piece in Salon:

"Senate Democrats and Republicans reached agreement with the Bush administration yesterday on the terms of new legislation to control the federal government's domestic surveillance program, which includes a highly controversial grant of legal immunity to telecommunications companies that have assisted the program, according to congressional sources. . ."

"The draft Senate bill has the support of the intelligence committee's chairman, John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) and Bush's director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell. It will include full immunity for those companies that can demonstrate to a court that they acted pursuant to a legal directive in helping the government with surveillance in the United States.

"Such a demonstration, which the bill says could be made in secret, would wipe out a series of pending lawsuits alleging violations of privacy rights by telecommunications companies that provided telephone records, summaries of e-mail traffic and other information to the government after Sept. 11, 2001, without receiving court warrants. Bush had repeatedly threatened to veto any legislation that lacked this provision.

Congress tries to intervene in judicial system

"Let's just describe very factually and dispassionately what has happened here. Congress -- led by Senators, such as Jay Rockefeller, who have received huge payments from the telecom industry, and by privatized intelligence pioneer Mike McConnell, former Chairman of the secretive intelligence industry association that has been demanding telecom amnesty -- is going to intervene directly in the pending lawsuits against AT&T and other telecoms and declare them the winners on the ground that they did nothing wrong. Because of their vast ties to the telecoms, neither Rockefeller nor McConnell could ever appropriately serve as an actual judge in those lawsuits."

"...The question of whether the telecoms acted in "good faith" in allowing warrantless government spying on their customers is already pending before a court of law. In fact, that is one of the central issues in the current lawsuits -- one that AT&T has already lost in a federal court.

"Yet that is the issue that Jay Rockefeller and Mike McConnell -- operating in secret -- are taking away from the courts by passing a law declaring the telecoms to have won ("Senators this week began reviewing classified documents . . . and came away from that early review convinced that the companies had 'acted in good faith' in cooperating with what they believed was a legal and presidentially authorized program"). They are directly interfering in these lawsuits and issuing a "ruling" in favor of AT&T and other telecoms that is exactly the opposite of the one an actual court of law has already issued."

The namesake

Despite the rather inconvenient French transit strike, this package from Rochambeau arrived safely this morning! Isn't that silk brocade bag lovely? And Constance included more treats: little sachets tied up in beautiful patterned silks.

Many of you know I have a strong affinity for the Middle East. As a reporter, I have lived and traveled throughout the region - particularly Jordan. I love the flowery poetic language; the stunning Islamic architecture; the food; the music; the people and their wonderful hospitality; the desert; the mountains.
When Constance created an unusual belly-dancing puppet named Tara, she was destined to join me for further adventures.

Et voila! Tara makes her appearance in Paris. Jetlagged or not, almost immediately, she looked around for a mandolin. Then she started to play the tambourine, her gold bangle bracelets jangling to the music.

Obviously, she was relieved her long journey was finished! Of course many other journeys and mysteries await, as Tara's story continues to unfold.

The pretty pink package contains a scroll depicting Tara's life to date, as written by Constance:

"She was born in a colourful Gypsy wagon, under a magic tree in a mossy wood. Hers was an easy birth. They called her Tara because she was born on a starry night, during the full moon. She lived in a faraway land, where the sounds of perfectly-tuned mandolins filled the air with joy and wrapped their melodies around her heart like a warm winter blanket.

"And yes, there were exotic spices perfuming the air: cinnamon, caramon, anise star and nutmeg - infusing and awakening the senses, whetting her appetite for a life filled with adventure! Tara greew into a beautiful woman, bright like a shining star. She enjoyed life, keeping time with her tambourine, while swirling in a circle of colourful satin ribbons. As she danced, she shook her hips and moved to the soundtrack of life. One day she'd be belly-dancing alone; the next she'd be doing a cha-cha with the handsomest guy in the village.

"As she grew in years, so did the Persian carpet of her life. It seemed to become deeper, richer and more complete. Each stitch, beautifully woven together with light colours and dark ones too. In fact, she began to see it coming together as one beautiful expression, telling the stories and secrets of her life.

"Maybe one day you will meet Tara. And how will you know? Well, she happens to hold her dreams in a pretty blue pounch wrapped around her waist. If you're lucky, she might hold on to one of your dreams, too!"

At the moment, she's taking a nap after her tiring trans-Atlantic voyage. But this weekend, Tara and I will be practicing our belly-dancing. Would you like to join us?

P.S. After the belly-dancing, we'll be watching rugby. France plays Argentina tonight at Parc des Princes in a bid for third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Allez les bleus! They need to redeem themselves for the opening game loss to Argentina. Update: Yet another disappointing game for France, as Argentina triumphed for the second time. Congratulations to the South American team, who played very well!

England and South Africa battle it out for the championship Saturday night at Stade de France. Along with my English husband, I'll be cheering on the underdogs (uh, that would be England).

A postcard rack filled with your cards

At the recent brocante at Chatou, I couldn't resist this Napoleon III wire postcard rack. I am mad about sculptural objects made of wire. While the original finial is missing, this one will do until I find a proper replacement. There's only one problem: there's not room in the apartment for the postcard rack - something else will have to go!

At present, the revolving rack is filled with readers' delightful postcards from the Postcard Project. Thank you! At Christmas, I will fill it with holiday cards tied with ribbon. In the new year, photos of family and friends will replace the cards. It could also be stuffed with flowers or vintage Barbie clothes on tiny hangers. Perhaps it would make an interesting art piece, if filled with advertising memorabilia or blocks of typeface letters. Or for a gardener, vintage packets of seeds; for a chef, recipes. Maybe vintage children's flash cards? Or language flash cards (if I actually had such a thing), to help improve my Spanish? Do you have any more ideas for the postcard rack?

Freedom to choose

Rooftop sculpture, The Old Bank Hotel, Oxford, England.

"Manuel works for 30 years without stopping. He brings up his children, sets a good example and devotes all his time to work, never asking: 'Does what I'm doing have any meaning?' His one thought is that the busier he is, the more important he will be in the eyes of the world.

"His children grow up and leave home. He gets a promotion at work. One day, he receives a watch or a pen, as a reward for all those years of devotion. His friends shed a few tears and the longed-for moment arrives: he's retired, free to do whatever he wants!

"...Manuel is a free man, reasonably well off, well informed, with an impeccable past. But what now? What should he do with this hard-won freedom? Everyone greets him and praises him, but no one has time for him. Gradually, Manuel begins to feel sad and useless, despite all those many years spent serving the world and his family.

"One night an angel appears to him while he sleeps: 'What have you done with your life? Did you try to live your life according to your dreams?'

"Another long day begins. The newspapers. The TV news. The garden. Lunch. A short nap. He can do whatever he wants to do, except that right now, he discovers he doesn't want to do anything. Manuel is a sad, free man, just one step away from depression, because he was always too busy to think about the meaning of his life and simply let the years flow under the bridge. He remembers the words of the poet: 'He passed through life; he did not live it.'

"However, since it is too late to accept all this, it's best just to change the subject. His hard-won freedom is merely exile-in-disguise."

- Excerpt from "Manuel is a Free Man" from the book Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coehlo.

RESTORE Act vote expected today

Bush threatens veto unless telecoms given immunity for spying on Americans

Today the RESTORE Act enters the final round in the US House of Representatives, where it will be presented to the House for a floor vote. The act is designed to restore some civil liberties lost under the current administration. While the RESTORE Act does not give telecoms such as AT&T immunity for helping the executive branch spy on Americans, a contingent of House representatives is trying to change that. And true to form, President George W. Bush has threatened to veto any bill lacking telecoms immunity.

Meanwhile, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has told a congressional committee that the government's illegal dragnet electronic surveillance opens the door to even more privacy violations for Americans.The sheer volume of personal information collected and the databases in which that information is stored create a giant target for attackers who want to steal or expose Americans' personal data.

In response to questions by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn explained that an increase in the number of databases introduces more points of vulnerability into the system, putting sensitive personal information from millions of people at risk. "We have all heard about security problems with government databases. A report from the Department of Homeland Security found 477 breaches in 2006 alone," said Cohn. "The warrantless domestic surveillance going on now isn't just illegal - it could expose your personal information to thieves and criminals."

The committee asked EFF for input as part of its review of the Protect America Act, legislation that broadly expanded the National Security Agency's authority to spy on Americans without warrants. The committee also sent questions to AT&T and other major telecommunications firms about their involvement in illegal surveillance activities. EFF provided the committee with information about the Hepting v. AT&T lawsuit. EFF represents the plaintiffs in this class-action lawsuit brought by AT&T customers, accusing the telecommunications company of violating their rights by illegally assisting the NSA's domestic surveillance. The Hepting case is one of many lawsuits aimed at holding telecoms responsible for knowingly violating federal privacy laws with warrantless wiretapping and the illegal transfer of vast amounts of personal data to the government.

EFF also provided the committee with a legal analysis of the use of so-called "exigent letters" by the government to obtain information about Americans and about their "communities of interest." These topics were raised by the committee in letters to the telecommunications carriers. EFF's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) work uncovered this illegal broadening of surveillance authority.

House backs reporters' right to protect sources; White House threatens veto

The Associated Press reports that on Tuesday the House of Representatives voted 398-21 to back the right of reporters to protect confidentiality of sources in most federal court cases. The House agreed that right was crucial to a free and effective press. Of course Bush's White House, warning that the media shield bill would encourage leaks of classified information, threatened a veto.

Under the legislation, reporters could still be compelled to disclose information on sources if the information is needed to "prevent acts of terrorism or harm to the national security." But that provision wasn't enough for the White House, which said privileges given to reporters "could severely frustrate — and in some cases completely eviscerate — the ability to investigate acts of terrorism or threats to national security."

Advocates of press freedom have pushed the issue this year in the wake of several high-profile cases, ncluding subpoenas for reporters to testify in a probe into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. Bill supporters pointed to press reports on Abu Ghraib, clandestine CIA prisons and shoddy conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as examples where source confidentiality was crucial. "Freedom of the press is fundamental to our democracy and it is fundamental to our security," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

More than 50 news outlets support the bill, which now faces a Senate vote.

Message in a bottle

A sea of faces and a plane suspended from the ceiling at the Centre Pompidou, Paris. The plane is created with thousands of strands of tiny lights. Photos by Jordana Shalhoub.

For the Writers Island prompt, "message in a bottle:"

Living in San Francisco, I was involved in a romance with a poet who lived in New York. He wrote beautiful deep poems for me; in those days the only poem I'd written in many years was political. Searching for a romantic gesture, I remembered the fictional images of pirate ships, sailing the high seas; shipwrecked people stranded on deserted islands, rolling messages in bottles and tossing them into the ocean, in the fleeting hope that someone would find them; fair maidens being rescued by handsome soldiers; the stuff of swashbuckling adventures starring Errol Flynn.

So I created my own message in a bottle. After finding an unusual cork-topped bottle, I wrote a pertinent message on parchment, rolled it up and stuffed it inside the bottle. I lined the inside of a large box with wrapping paper depicting nautical maps and ancient ships sailing the Atlantic. I filled the box with shredded paper in oceanic colours of aqua, blue and green to cushion the bottle. Next I tossed seashells, seahorses and soaps shaped like shells and sprinkled Ocean potpourri (from Pier 1) into the box. Then I sent the package off to New York, where it apparently created quite the kerfuffle at building security. Eventually it reached its intended recipient, who greatly appreciated the gesture and the message.

After a long and circuitous voyage...

The message reached you
and touched your heart
for a moment

until you remembered
the obligations and routine
that governed your life

so you set the bottle
on a shelf for all to admire
and tucked the message

safely away in a drawer
for those mad moments
when dreams of possibility

tempted you to consider
joy might be within your grasp
if you had the courage to reach.

Blog Action Day for the environment

24 portraits of our environment: Respect, protect and preserve

After the rain, Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England, photo by David Holmes.

Bicycles best mode of city transport, Oxford, England.

Treelined walkway leading to the River Isis, Oxford.

Foraging for food beside the River Isis, Oxford.

Houseboats along the River Isis, Oxford.

Swan gliding, the River Isis, Oxford.

Ducks swimming, the River Isis, Oxford.

Lone warrior, the River Isis, Oxford.

Catching a nap on the riverbank, Oxford.

Weeping willow and pond viewed from a small bridge, Oxford.